Bullpen Report: July 8, 2015
Good news in Cleveland as Cody Allen appeared tonight for the first time since Friday, missing time with a stiff back. He seemed to pick up right where he left off, retiring each of the three Astros’ he faced on just ten pitches to notch his 17th save of the season. On the year, the 26-year-old is 17-of-18 in save opportunities with a 3.25 ERA (1.72 FIP) and a 14.5 K/9. Entering tonight, Allen’s 27.9% K-BB% ranked him sixth-best among qualified closers in that category, only behind Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, David Robertson, Yimi Garcia and Carson Smith. There’s plenty of history behind the Cubs and Cardinals, but tonight’s game at Wrigley Field is why this rivalry is one of the very best in baseball. St. Louis edged Chicago in the final frame of tonight’s contest thanks to a two-run long ball off the bat of Jhonny Peralta. Here at the Bullpen Report, it’s worth noting that Peralta’s homer came off of Pedro Strop, earning the right-hander his fourth loss of the ‘15 campaign. He’s now 2-of-3 in save opportunities and owns a 3.03 ERA (3.78 FIP) in 38.2 innings on the bump. Hector Rondon appeared in the eighth and fanned two en route to picking up his fifth hold of the year. On the flipside, Trevor Rosenthal took the hill during the home half of the ninth with the hopes of preserving the one-run lead for the Red Birds. The right-hander did just that on 20 pitches to earn his 25th save conversion of the first half.
On just six pitches, Glen Perkins notched his 28th save en route to a 6-4 Twinkies victory over the Orioles. The veteran southpaw induced a strikeout, a groundout and a fly out this afternoon to remain a perfect 28-for-28 in save chances this year. Andrew Miller returned from the disabled list and immediately jumped back into the ninth-inning role. The lefty labored through an inning of work — Miller yielded two earned on on two hits, including a homer on 30 pitches — but managed to escape with the save conversion (18) and a victory for the Yankees. Oakland and New York faceoff for a day game on Thursday, so there’s a fair chance we’d see Dellin Betances in the ninth if the Yanks are in a save situation based on Miller’s workload tonight.
Potential trade candidate, Francisco Rodriguez, picked up his 19th save of the 2015 season. Rodriguez now sits at 367 saves all-time, tying him with Jeff Reardon for eighth all-time. His name always seems to find its way into rumor circles come summertime for teams that could be in need of bullpen support for the stretch run. But reports suggest that teams are wary of trading for him based on the remaining value of his contract and history of offseason conduct. Not many teams have tipped their cards just yet, but it’s not quite difficult to see that there are some teams who could use his services should they be willing to deal with one or both of the above concerns.
Quick Hitters: Antonio Bastardo needed 22 pitches, but picked up his first save of the year this evening with Mark Melancon getting the night off. The White Sox and Blue Jays went to extra-innings on Wednesday and on just the second pitch from Roberto Osuna in the 11th, Adam Eaton hit a solo homer, walk-off style to deep right to end the game. Osuna took the loss, his third of the season, but the appearance came in a tie game situation he was not charged with the blown save. The Jays’ closer is 4-of-5 in save chances with a 2.31 ERA (2.39 FIP) on the year. Jeurys Familia (24), Koji Uehara (21), Joakim Soria (19) and Greg Holland (17) each earned saves on Wednesday. And on the final pitch of the Angels’ games, Huston Street seemed to tweak something while finishing off the Rockies for his 24th save. If you’re in a league that doesn’t use waivers, you may want to stash Joe Smith just in case.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
In addition to contributing to the RotoGraphs blog, you can find Alan at his own site, TheFantasyFix.com and follow his nonsense on Twitter @TheFantasyFix.
Yimis in the minors
I was about to mention this. So is Baez the setup guy now? Adam Liberatore has the most holds over the season, last month, last two weeks, AND last week on the team.